


The Hanged Man   *fixed*

by queerfindings



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: BDSM, Choking, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Rope Bondage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 21:22:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12779778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerfindings/pseuds/queerfindings
Summary: If you show your boyfriend your new rope, he'll want you to tie him up.When you tie him up he'll want you to suspend him too.Being suspended will remind him he likes to be choked.Of course, when you choke him you'll have to tie him down.





	The Hanged Man   *fixed*

**Author's Note:**

> Well, the previous version involved unintentional whitewashing that was 100% me not paying attention, and I feel awful. I was called on it, I fixed it, I will definitely pay better mind to my characterization in the future. Thank you to the person who posted the comment on the original.

Juniper tumbled through the door in a whirl of laughter and wet air. The scent permeated the little shop, Asra had all the windows open. He appeared at the top of the stairs looking the definition of cozy wrapped in a blanket and sleep tousled.

“Juni. I thought you’d be gone all day.”

“He had things to do,” they replied. “So we went shopping and then he sent me home.” There was no mistaking the bright interest even in his sleepy eyes as he watched the apprentice shake out of their cloak to hang it by the door, which they locked before stripping away shirt, boots, pants, underwear, to leave it all in a sodden heap on the floor.

“S’all wet anyway- look, look! I’ve got new toys.” They gathered up the bag and bounded upstairs like an enthusiastic puppy. Faust poked her head from under the snowy nest of Asra’s hair as he trailed behind to the bedroom. Above them, rain pelted the world in waves.

Diffuse light washed the little room in muted jewel tones from the multi-colored scarves that hung in the skylight for just that effect. The bed took up most of the available space, piled high with pillows and blankets. One wall was lined with shelves that carried books, crystals, small ivory and brass figurines; against the other, on Juniper’s side, was a set of shelves for their things- namely bits of leather and glass and their well-worn compendium. They bounced onto the bed and upended their bag.

“You were left unsupervised weren’t you?” Asra knelt behind them to fold them in his blanket and kissed the arch of their neck.

“Was not. I had Julien with me,” Juni protested with a little wriggle of pleasure as warm fingers danced up their sides. Asra snorted softly.

“My statement stands. You taste like a storm.” He licked the delicate skin just below their ear. Juniper fairly purred when he sucked a mouthful lightly between his teeth. Thunder rolled above them in a lazy growl.

“Can I practice my knots?” They turned, distracted by the prospect of getting their hands on new rope, and gave him puppy eyes. “Please, you look so pretty in rope.” Asra sighed dramatically, but shed the blanket and sent Faust over to her warming rock. He returned to the bed then and divested himself of the loose pants he wore.

“I am at your service.” He bowed with a flourish.

It was a game at first, that was how it usually started. Juniper chattered to Asra about their time with Julien, they paused so often to ask him to hold something here or there, but otherwise it was easy to make the first loops of a rope harness around his lithe body. They lapsed into silence as the more complicated shapes began to take form.

“Lie on the bed, I’m going to try something new,” Juni instructed. They helped Asra down, and lingered a moment. The curve of his skull fit their palms exactly. He looked practically ethereal in this light, rain above, warmth below, an angel in silk bonds. A smile lingered on the curve of his lips, eyes half lidded. Juni bent to kiss him.

“Oh. I didn’t ask permission,” they whispered as they pulled away.

“You have it.” He hummed a little and sighed deeply with contentment. “Please continue.” Juniper flipped him on his belly and pulled one arm behind his back to lace the rope in with the harness to hold it there. The second arm lifted over his head at an angle, to lead down to one leg.

“You’ll tell me if something is too tight?”

“I will,” Asra promised. He sucked in a breath as his other leg cranked up. Juniper braided a harness down the length of his calf, and could not resist pressing a kiss to the dimple at his knee. Soft laughter muffled against the blankets. Juniper stood across the bed and pulled down the hook attached to one of the main beams there. They threaded the ropes through it, then stood back and eased Asra to his back.

“Just for a moment, I won’t leave you there.” The man was made of pure distraction, lying there all pink and breathless. He let his eyes close as they hoisted him up bit by bit. Finally his head left the bed, and he swung gently, suspended in a familiar pose. The cards, brought to life in warm brown skin and scarlet silk. Juniper stood back to admire their work.

“You are perfect,” they breathed. Asra watched them, swinging almost lazily like a pendulum in a grandfather clock. Juniper let him down after a moment, but could not bear to release him just yet. They lay across the bed beside him and carefully, softly let their body relax against his. One hand cupped his throat lightly, just to feel his pulse, they chanted internally. Just to feel the little flutter against their palm. Not for anything else...but their fingers tightened. He gasped softly when they released. They pressed their lips against his shoulder. And they squeezed.

“Juni!” Their name escaped on a half tortured gasp. They let Asra catch his breath, but not for long before stealing it away again. Suddenly it was frantic, to get his arm out from under him so they could straddle him. One hand over his nose, their mouth on his, the other hand on his throat in a possessive grasp. Asra struggled- half-hearted, it was always half-hearted until Juni didn’t let him up for air when he needed it- and Juniper held him down.

“You’re so pretty when you turn that color,” they uttered, turned breathless themselves by the writhing creature beneath them. “So pretty. I want you.”

“You have me.” His first breath was a vow to them. They rewarded him by pressing the two magic points on his throat that made him go glassy-eyed and soft around the edges- all but the rigid length that stood against their thigh. Then they leaned in and kissed him, hard, mouth open to suck air from his lungs, air that would not return until they said so. Asra made the most delicious mewling noises under them. Only when his body went limp did they release. His chest bucked with an explosive gasp. He rutted against their thigh, jerky, perfect movements to bring his undoing. Juniper could only watch, utterly enchanted by the color that washed his face, the twitching, squirming, moaning thing their lover became.

“Don’t leave again.” They hardly realized they’d spoken until they realized he was looking at them with vague pain in his eyes. He hid it with a wobbly smile.

“If you keep spoiling me like this, I wouldn’t dream of it.” His arms jerked a little, he remembered his current predicament. “Ah, darling, my leg…”

“Of course.” Juniper swung into motion and winced at the sticky feeling up their leg and belly. They solved it by wiping the mess away with Asra’s shirt and then went to untie him.

“That was my last shirt.”

“You made the mess.” They shrugged as they loosed the ropes, then began the complicated process of repeating the ritual backwards.

Asra sat up to massage his limbs and peered up. The rain stopped at some point. He lounged back against a throne of pillows and held out his arms. For once Juni was inclined to snuggle, they knew it was a crucial part of their partner’s aftercare, and they crawled up his body to get comfortable. Faust, content the show was over, slithered over the bed to drape around their neck.

_Why??_

The question was clear as day. Asra snorted when Juniper only turned red and put their face in his neck. Steps ascended the stairs. Neither of them had heard the door open in the first place, but there was only one other person who had a key.

“Did I miss the fun?” Julien stood in the doorway and grinned at them. Asra pressed a kiss to Juniper’s hair and crooked a finger at him.

“Hardly. You deserve an expression of my gratitude for sending them home with rope.” That was their hint to get up. Juni wormed their way off the bed in time to trade Julien places, naked except for his eyepatch. They smacked his ass on the way down and made sure Faust was draped firmly around their shoulders before they left. 

“I’ll be downstairs when you’re done, come get food.” Some sort of affirmative drifted their way, it was hard to tell who was where in the tangle of bare skin and wild hair. Julien acted like kissing Asra was the national pastime.

Faust stayed put on their shoulders as they puttered around the tiny kitchen, dodging hanging racks of drying herbs and clearing a bit of counter space. Cook books sat alongside spell books. They kept their ingredients clearly labeled and separated, but everything else, much like the rest of their life, found its own place regardless of what its purpose was. A jar did not question its purpose, it simply was.

Soon enough the smell of frying onions filled the kitchen. They slid minced garlic off the edge of a knife- clearly marked for cooking by its redwood handle, as opposed to the bone handled ritual knives. They set about dressing small cuts of meat to fry, and turned for a crock of broth.

_Eggs._

“This doesn’t need eggs.”

_Eggs for Faust._

“Faust does not need eggs either, fatty,” they laughed, and booped the top of her head. She flicked her tongue, unimpressed. They nuzzled her head with their nose. She butted against their cheek, but returned attention to what they were doing.

Their partners came downstairs around the time the soup was ready. Trust Julien to have a sixth sense when it came to food. He was a stomach on legs. Nice legs, but all the same. He ate like a horse. Juniper served out three bowls of noodles and garnished them with broth, meat, and vegetables rendered soft by the soup. The three ate sitting cross-legged in the small living area beside the kitchen. Asra boasted two new hickeys, and soft purple ringed his limbs where the ropes tugged tight against his delicate skin.

“I have something for that,” Julien commented at one point, and ran a fingertip along his throat.

“So do I.” Asra shot him an amused look. “I’m keeping them.”

“He just wraps a scarf around his neck and looks good as new,” Juni grumbled. “No one can even tell what we’ve been up to.”

“I can fix that-”

“Boys! At least put your bowls away first!”

“I love it when you put your bossy voice on,” Julien sighed. He stood to collect bowls and utensils and headed for the kitchen. After a moment there was the noise of water and a scrubbing pad. He hummed along as he worked. Asra looked to Juniper for permission before he draped himself over their lap. Somewhere above it started to rain again.


End file.
